Notes on a Hamburg short break, QM2 & Britannia Club

Kynance · September 24, 2023

This was our first time on QM2 since 2017 - we very much enjoyed this 4 night break in a deck 13 Britannia Club cabin. Here are some thoughts for anyone who might be interested.

Cabin

Despite being adjacent to the door to the open deck, the location was generally pretty quiet. The Art Deco design highlights gave the cabin a nice touch of elegance. The shower with the glass door was great, good water pressure and consistent temperature control. It was a small thing, but having 2 shower caddies for shampoos and shower gels was really useful. I loved the soft, fluffy bath robes, with the Cunard logo embroidered in gold and branded slippers were also back (had plain ones on QV in June). The Club cabin came with an “enhanced” hospitality tray - nice packets of Walkers biscuits but we had some comedy moments trying to get the Illy coffee machine to work. When we eventually worked it out, the half mug of coffee was way too strong for us (espresso maybe?) - we stuck to lattes from the bars afterwards!

Dining

I had optimistically requested a window table for 2 at the time of booking. On the first couple of nights, we had the table adjacent to the window table and then when its occupants left the ship in Hamburg, we were moved across by the Maitre D’. There was about a foot and half (measured by Mr K’s size 12s) between the tables and on 2 nights out of the 4 we didn’t have table neighbours, so really lucked out, as we’re more than happy in our own company. We were also fortunate to be in the discrete dining room (starboard side), rather than the screened off area at the back of the main Britannia restaurant.

We made good use of the options from the evening a la carte menu, pre-ordering the Dorset rack of lamb for the final night. The other a la carte main courses were sirloin steak, coquilles St Jacques, Gressingham duck and whole lemon sole meunière. The flambé trolley was in operation on the second and final nights of the trip, offering pears and peaches respectively. I also enjoyed a selection from the cheese trolley one evening but calling it international was possibly a bit of a push, as it was mostly British. However, if you aren’t from Britain, then it would be a fair description I suppose!

We had two lovely lunches in the Club restaurant as well - the restaurant was fairly quiet on both occasions.

Service was friendly, attentive and unrushed and the quiet, calm ambiance was perfect for us. However, I’m well aware that we had our fair share of luck this time around - there were more than a few tables that I wouldn’t have liked as much but perhaps after our June experience on QV, the dining gods were on our side.

There was only one tiny thing which struck me as a bit at odds with the overall dining experience - presentation-wise, the additional vegetables or potatoes would have looked better served in a bowl or gratin-type dish, rather than “plonked” on a round plate - and possibly stayed a bit hotter for longer too.

Entertainment

A shout-out for a couple of shows I enjoyed: “Symphony” featured the Cunard singers and massed musicians (including a virtual orchestra recorded at Abbey Road Studios) and was loosely themed on music performed at some of London’s iconic venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. It ended with a rousing Beatles’ medley. On the final afternoon, Royal Shakespeare Company actors on board performed a version of the RSC musical “Miss Littlewood” about the theatrical pioneer Joan Littlewood. I always used to like the RADA performances on QM2, so was pleased to have the chance to catch this event.

General Thoughts

A few general observations to end with - rather than a party cruise, this felt like the extension of the inbound TA, with the atmosphere to match, so that was nice. I think it was reflected in participation in the optional gala night, which seemed to be high, even though we were arriving in Hamburg the following morning.

Service in the bars seemed pretty swift and we were never left waiting long for an order to be taken and as usual, we had a cheerful, very hardworking cabin steward.

Some furnishings need replacing- I saw a few tatty chairs here and there - but overall, I didn’t think for one minute that the ship had aged badly in the 6 years since our last voyage.

I’ve already mentioned elsewhere that I thought the delayed arrival into Hamburg was well managed & Cunard did their best to ensure we had the maximum time ashore that was possible in the circumstances.

The small cost of upgrading to Club from the main Britannia grade was well worth it for this short trip (as it was when we did a similar trip on QV in 2018). I still think, on balance, we couldn’t justify/get the benefit of the additional uplift in price for a longer voyage but I’ll certainly considering bidding on an upgrade for next June if an opportunity is offered.

Jack E Dawson · September 24, 2023

Very informative review Kynance and done with a wonderful writing style. Thanks. Our very first voyage ever was a TA on the QM2 in May of 2017 and we had opted for Club as well (no bidding on upgrades back then). It sounds like little has changed except that the off menu choices have been upgraded and we had the flambe' trolly only once in 7 nights. We have since sailed in Sheltered and Unobstructed Balcony but think that Club may be the sweet spot for us on the QM2.

Jack

Pushpit · September 24, 2023

Just to add my thanks for that lovely review. I was also on the SOU-HAM leg and very much go along with your comments, albeit from steerage! (Sheltered balcony).

Strangely the highlight for me was the non-event, of sorts. I did read the Shipping Forecast for the German Bight, and I thought "oh dear" when the whole of the North Sea and Channel went red to indicate gales. Then on the evening before arrival into Hamburg they closed off the outside areas (but forgot to do the two Lookouts.....) and I thought - are those waves 4 metres or not? That's when you go from Rough to Very Rough. It's quite difficult to tell, but apparently it was indeed Very Rough. Around 10pm or so there was a bit of a quiver but you could leave a shiny cylinder pencil on a glass table top and it wouldn't roll. Around midnight it did occasionally move a little but in essence there was very little movement. I was Deck 4 nearly fully aft. QM2 is an amazingly stable vessel.

BklynBoy8 · September 24, 2023

1 hour ago, Kynance said:

This was our first time on QM2 since 2017 - we very much enjoyed this 4 night break in a deck 13 Britannia Club cabin. Here are some thoughts for anyone who might be interested.

.....

Kynance,

Thank you for your wonderful review. We too experienced Deck 13 BC three voyages ago, the year after 2016 refit. We too enjoyed the changes and additions to the Deck 13 cabins. And the extra hike to the Dining Room at the far end and all the way down.

Being in Deck 13 cabin in the past, we were placed in the Starboard side BC Dining Room addition. When we sailed BC on Deck 12, we were in the Portside BC original Dining Room.

We too appreciated the Shower Doors in Deck 13 cabins.

We also enjoyed the BC Menu Selections + A La Carte addition. Our area included us kept the Flambe Tables active. Pear, Peach, Cherries and an unusual Pineapple topping for crepes w Vanilla Ice Cream.

We did not have “Symphony” on our recent sailing but maybe next time.

Yes, our choices are BC w a possible upgrade to PG or better or PG outright.

Enjoy next June's voyage in which other accommodations you select.....

Kynance · September 24, 2023

@Jack E Dawson and @Pushpit - thank you for your kind comments!

I was indeed very surprised that despite the overnight gales, nothing moved in our cabin - not even the unused hangers in the wardrobe, despite us being pretty far forward on the top deck.

Kynance · September 24, 2023

@BklynBoy8 - thank you for your kind reply.

“Symphony” had a very eclectic range of music - a bit of opera, a John Williams medley, some Aretha Franklin. I think there was something by Beyoncé as well but I only know this because one of the vocalists specifically introduced it. My interest in modern pop/rock stops around 1997 —everything after that is a mystery to me!

Kynance · September 24, 2023

Thank you @Host Hattie - I will certainly post this as a review as well.

NE John · September 25, 2023

I hope that some of the “tattiness” I’ve read about QM2 gets resolved during the November refit.
Thanks for taking the time to share your report. BC seems to include many of the PG features dining-wise but with a standard balcony room vs a suite type room.
As @BklynBoy8 notes, try PG next time…especially for a special occasion. I enjoyed our PG experience. (and sheltered balcony times too).

Rossco01 · September 27, 2023

Thank you for the very interesting review. Very interesting to read the differences in BC.

Pushpit · October 3, 2023

Here are some menus from the Southampton - Hamburg leg, but from the Britannia rather than Britannia Club. However for embarkation day lunch, it's the Golden Lion.

Then the first evening dinner in Britannia:

And this was the pork fillet:

Then the breakfast menu - this never seems to change in my experience, other than if there is a full disembarkation then a few items such as Egg Benedict will leave the menu.